Freshwater Drum/Fishing Report

Here's the fish I caught Friday evening down below the Falls. This is a freshwater drum, about which I've been reading a little bit (I had to do a little reading after I caught one.) They aren't a popular fish, perhaps due to their homely resemblance to carp, but there are those who esteem them for the good fight they put up (this one had a good pull) and for a good flavor (some people don't think they're that great, but those who seem to be "in the know" say that they key is to get them on ice quickly; they're delicious, though if you don't ice them down the flavor and texture suffer.)

They get their name from the drumming sound the males make. They are also known for their otoliths, which are rounded stone-like mineral formations in their ear regions that were used as jewelry and trade items by Native Americans.

This is the second drum I've caught; they first time was about ten years ago, in Otter Creek.

I was down at Shippingport Island for two or three hours. I started by the dam, where I saw small fish jumping but didn't catch anything on an artificial minnow or on a worm beneath a bobber. The current there was very strong.

Much of the shoreline was inaccessible because the mud was too soft. I found another rocky area farther from the dam that was easy to walk on, but where the current was still fast. That's where I caught the drum. There were a few other people fishing on shore, and a number of fishing boats out—looking for sauger or striped bass, I assume. Way across the river, at a boat ramp on the New Albany side, I could see other anglers.

It was a very pretty evening, and very peaceful, and I'd like to go back there to paint.